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The Three Stooges Meet Hercules
| runtime = | country = United States | language = English | budget = $420,000 | gross = $2 million }} The Three Stooges Meet Hercules is a 1962 comedy film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the third feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita (dubbed "Curly Joe"). Released by Columbia Pictures, The Three Stooges Meet Hercules was directed by long-time Stooges director Edward Bernds. It was the most financially successful of the Stooges' feature films. Plot The Stooges work at Dimsal's Drug Store in Ithaca, New York, where they befriend their eccentric next door neighbour Schuyler Davis (Quinn Redeker), who is attempting to build a time machine. With the boys' "help", the machine transports the boys, Schuyler and disaffected girlfriend Diane Quigley (Vicki Trickett) back in time to Ithaca in ancient Greece during the reign of the lecherous King Odius (George N. Neise). The King, after defeating and imprisoning Ulysses because the Stooges are believed to be gods, has a yearning for Diane. Realizing they have disrupted the proper course of history, Schuyler and the boys free Ulysses, after which Odius banishes them to the galleys. However the constant rowing causes Schuyler to become extremely muscular and superhumanly strong, equal to Hercules. After an escape and shipwreck, they kill a monster Siamese Cyclops with the help of Joe's sleeping pills and start billing Schuyler as Hercules at a local gladiatorial arena. The real Hercules (Samson Burke) gets wind of their game and confronts them, but after single combat, the Stooges convince Hercules to help them rescue Diane in a chariot chase. The time travelers remove Odius and, navigating by observing the progress of military technology, manage to set history straight by dumping him off into the Wild West where a tribe of Native American warriors chases him off into the distance. After that, the travelers return to Dimsal's Drug Store. Dimsal touches the time machine and disappears, but eventually returns locked inside a pillory. The Stooges manage to remove the pillory with an electric tool. Cast *Moe Howard – Moe *Larry Fine – Larry *Joe DeRita – Curly Joe *Quinn Redeker – Schuyler Davis *Vicki Trickett – Diane Quigley *George N. Neise – Ralph Dimsal/King Odius *Samson Burke – Hercules *Emil Sitka – Shepherd/Refreshment Man *Hal Smith – King Theseus Of Rhodes *Marlin McKeever – Ajax (The Siamese Cyclops) *Mike McKeever – Argo (The Siamese Cyclops) * John Cliff – Ulysses * Barbara Hines – Anita *Terry Huntingdon – Hecuba *Diana Piper – Helen *Gregg Martell – Simon *Gene Roth – harbor captain *Lewis Charles – Achilles the Heel *Edward Foster – Freddie the Fence *Cecil Elliott – matron *Rusty Wescoatt – Philo, the Horator Reception Moe Howard expressed his fondness for the film in 1973, stating "Of course Hercules I liked very much. Especially when we were in the slave ship. We had a great special effects team on that." See also * List of American films of 1962 References External links * * * *[http://www.threestooges.net/filmography/episode/216 The Three Stooges Meet Hercules at threestooges.net] * Category:1962 films Category:1960s fantasy-comedy films Category:American fantasy-comedy films Category:American films Category:American black-and-white films Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:English-language films Category:Films based on Greco-Roman mythology Category:Films about time travel Category:The Three Stooges films Category:Films directed by Edward Bernds Category:American slapstick comedy films Category:American fantasy comedy films Category:Films scored by Paul Dunlap Category:Films about Heracles